Card positioner for card index files



May 25, 1954 J. N. sTUHR CARD POSITIONER FOR CARD INDEX FILES Filed June 24, 1952 FIG. l.

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ATTORNEYS Patented May 25, 1954 UNITED STATE@ itwillNT OFFICE 2,679,406 CARD POSITIONER FOR CARD INDEX FILES Jasper N. Stuhr, Los Angeles, Calif. Application June 24, 1952, Serial No. 295,194

1 Claim. l

This invention has to do with card index les, and relates more particularly to means for positioning a card in a ile drawer so that a person might conveniently make entries thereon.

A diiiiculty experienced in the use of conventional card index illes has been that of obtaining proper access to a selected card to make entries thereon without completely removing the card from the le. Such cards are conventionally placed in overlapping relationship against the bottom wall of a drawer, and the side walls oi the drawer prevent convenient access to the cards for the purpose of writing upon them, and this is particularly true where the drawers and cards are of narrow width.

It is an object of my present invention to provide a card positioner which may be used as an accessory for a card index le, and which may be instantly applied and which will support any selected card in the le in such position that the user may conveniently make entries upon it with out removing it from the le drawer.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, for which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation, with a portion broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, showing my card positioner mounted upon a card index iile drawer;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 4 4 f of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of an index card and its mounting means; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the card and mounting means of Fig. 5.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, D denotes a conventional card index nie drawer, such as the type commonly known as a Kardex file. The drawer comprises a bottom wall 5, end walls 5 and side walls l. The drawer, of course, is normally slidably mounted in a cabinet, not shown.

Arranged along the bottom wall of the drawer, in overlapping relationship, are index cards. While there are index cards of various sorts, the form most commonly used employs a card holder and card such as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and comprising a backing sheet I5. Attached to the right end of the backing sheet, as by staples IB. there is an anchoring strip ll whose end portions I8 project laterally beyond the side edges of the backing sheet so as to engage beneath a longitudinal rib carried by each side wall l. An index card 2U has its left end rictional-ly engaged beneath a backwardly turned end ange portion 2| of the backing sheet. A line of perforations 22y are conventionally provided in the backing sheet adjacent its right end to facilitate swinging the left end portion of the backingv sheet relative to the anchoring strip Il.

Up to this point in my description, I have merely described a conventional card index file of ,a type commonly used.

My card positioner, generally denoted by the numeral 3i), includes a ilat top plate 3l, of a width greater than the width of the drawer D. Secured to the bottom of plate 3l, as by spacer strips 33, there is a bottom plate 35 whose medial portion is narrower than the width of drawer D. Formed integral with and extending laterally from the sides of said medial portion there are narrow extension portions 35a which are secured, as by cementing, or heat sealing, to the overlying spacers 33. The front end portion 36 of the bottom plate 35 is at and projects beyond the front end edge 3|a of the top plate. This portion 35 provides a platform or support for a card-that is, while the user is making an entry .upon the card. Preferably the bottom plate is shorter in length than the top plate.

Thus it will be seen that the spacers 33, the top plate and the bottom plate provide a guideway 38 to receive any selected card 20. The other end lportion 3S of the bottom plate curves downwardly to facilitate entering a card into the guideway.

It will be apparent, of course, that my positienerthat is, the top and bottom plates and the spacers, may be formed integrally; and it is my preference to make at least the top plate of transparent material, such as Lucite plastic.

In use, the user places the positioner 30 on the card drawer D so that it may be slidably moved along the top edges of the side walls of the drawer in a longitudinal direction. After the user selects the card 2l? upon which he desires to make an entry, he swings the adjacent cards upwardly and backwardly about their hinge connections to the anchoring strips, inserts the free end of the selected card into the guideway 33, and then slides the positioner 30 to the left until the free end portion of the selected card emerges from the guideway and rests upon the platform 3B, in which position it is supported above the plane of the top edges of the side Walls of the drawer in position to be conveniently written upon. After the desired entry is made upon the card, the positioner is moved t the right until the card flexes back into position against its backing sheet, and the adjacent cards are swung back into position.

Of course, if it be desired to make an entry upon a portion of the card more closely adjacent the point 2l at which it is anchored to its backing sheet, the user may accomplish this by reversing the position of the positioner, so that the card will enter the guideway from the opposite end of the guideway. In that position that portion of the card adjacent the point at which it is anchored to the backing sheet will rest upon platform 36 in position to be written upon.

Inasmuch as the portion 39 of the bottom plate is curved downwardly out of the plane of the contiguous portion of the bottom plate, it will engage the inner surface of the side wall of the drawer if the user accidentally attempts to move .the positioning device laterally of the drawer, and thereby prevent such accidental lateral displacement.

Within the purview of the accompanying claim, various modifications may be made in the details of construction described without departing from the broader scope of my invention.

I claim:

A card positioning and supporting accessory for use on a card filing drawer comprising a top plate of greater Width than the Width of the drawer upon which it is to be used, whereby to be slidable along the edges of said drawer in directions longitudinally thereof, a bottom plate having a rear portion underlying the top plate and a front portion projecting forwardly beyond the front edge of the top plate and providing a card-supporting platform forwardly of said top plate and transversely spaced spacers interposed between said plates and defining therewith a horizontally disposed card passageway for passing and guiding a portion of a card from said drawer onto said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,757,154 Walter May 6, 1930 1,799,367 Heisinger Apr. 7, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 526,088 Germany June 1, 1931 

